


Beginnings

by hipsterscribbles



Series: Angelguard [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Birthday Boy Gladio, Gen, Kid Gladio, Kid Jasz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 12:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10639641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hipsterscribbles/pseuds/hipsterscribbles
Summary: Gladio and Jasz first met as kids. Gladio seemed to take a liking to the girl from outside the wall. Jasz, however, was less than impressed with the young shield-to-be. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself…





	

"Hey..."

I didn't wanna look up. That voice was already too familiar and I didn't want it to be. It shouldn't be. But my body betrayed me anyway, my eyes slowly moving from the uneaten cupcake in my hand to the boy with pretty, brown eyes. _Ugh. Pretty?!_ The thought made me squirm where I sat on the sidewalk, perched like a total loner in front of my favorite bakery.

"You got a name?"

 _Stupid. Everybody's got a name._ I opened my mouth to tell him so but then I snapped it shut, looking away at nothing. Anything to shut him up and make him go away. "What's it to you?" I mumbled under my breath, as quiet as I could, but somehow he heard me. He wasn’t standing very far from me, of course he would hear me, duh..

"I just thought... Well anyway my name’s Gladiolus. Gladiolus Amicitia."

He looked proud when he said it, I swear his chest inflated like one of those colorful raft thingies at the pool. How stupid. "'Kay." was the only thing I grumbled in answer. I didn't wanna look at him. You see, he'd saved me from some stupid bullies and I didn't wanna owe him for it. That's how it works right? Somebody does something good and you gotta pay them back. Plus people were only nice to me when they wanted something and when they didn’t get it… Well I wasn’t sent to this place for good behavior. Anyway, friendly faces usually mean trouble and I can’t get into anymore of that. So maybe if I don't look at him he won't mention his good deed. Then I don't hafta owe him anything. Or fight him if he got peeved at me. _Just go away!_

"Your name's Kay?"

 _Stupid..._ "No!" _Why won't he just leave me alone?_ "I said 'kay like 'okay'. Your name is Gladiolus, ‘kay, I gotcha." I gotta remember that I don't wanna be too rude, I hafta at least fit in a little and making enemies was a bad idea. Making friends didn't sound all that good either, really. Ha, friends, like I had any of those before.

"Oh..."

Silence at last. I looked back down at my cupcake and listened for his footsteps, waiting for him to walk away. My eyes swirled around the purple frosting, dotted in random spots by white, star shaped sprinkles. Any second now he's gotta walk away, right?

"So, you gonna tell me?"

It took the will of the Six not to turn around and growl at him. _Leave me alone!_ Instead I turned to stare at him. Silently. At least I tried. Why'd he hafta be so pretty? And was he really this nice? And, okay, he was sorta my hero just a little while ago but he didn’t look all big-headed about it... "Jasz..." His stupid face kinda got all glowy when I told him half of my given name, he looked pleased. Ugh.

"Nice to meet you, Jasz."

He was smiling like I made his day and it made him prettier. What did I do to deserve this? Whatever it was I prayed to the Six to forgive me and promised to never do it again if they’d just make this boy go away!

“Sorry about earlier. Those boneheads don’t know any better when it comes to kids from outside the wall. And there was no way I could let a pretty girl get picked on like that.”

 _Pretty girl? Oh please._ I wanted to roll my eyes and tell him that he could go away now, thank you very much. But I wanted to hide my face and blush too. Blush! This body is such a traitor, I wanna trade it in and get a new one. _Hmph._

“They’re just jealous, you know? Being taken in by a member of the royal council means you’re that much closer to the prince. A lot closer than they’ll ever get, probably.”

He laughed at that but I didn’t get the joke. _Who cares?_ I couldn’t help rolling my eyes this time and when I looked over at him he was grinning at me like an idiot. “Big deal, he’s a person like the rest of us.” There, I said it, and I was probably gonna be in biiig trouble if anybody found out. Is it treason to call the crown prince just ‘another person’? I don’t know how this stuff works. I must’ve looked really guilty because stupid pretty face laughed at me.

“That’s true... But-- Oh! Whoops! I gotta go!”

 _Finally!_ I tried not to look too happy while he turned sideways, hopefully about to run off somewhere. Probably had to rescue a cat from a tree then talk its ear off about something stupid. He didn’t run off, though, and I fought with the frown that was dying to pop up on my face.

“I gotta get to training and it’s my birthday so I get to train with the older kids starting from today. My dad’s a shield, you know? I’m gonna be one too. I’m gonna be the strongest man in Lucis, just you wait and see!”

I blinked at him and ran the conversation back through my head, trying to find exactly where I asked him about all of that. I got nothing, I didn’t ask at all. Then, stupidly, I smiled up at him. _Ugh! Stop doing that! He’ll never leave me alone if I don’t give him a reason to._ But of course my stupid mouth opens and I ask, “It’s your birthday?” _No, I don’t care. Let him leave, please._

“Yup! I’m 10 today.”

Ha, I almost guessed right, then. I thought he was around my age, probably younger. Maybe 10 or 11 or something. Man, I’m good. I looked back down at my cupcake and got an idea. _Yes!_ If I give him a birthday present then we’re even. Nothing owed. A birthday present for a hero moment. That’ll work, right? I looked back up to see him watching me, like he wanted to say something. With a smile I held up the cupcake in offer. “Happy birthday, then.” His eyebrows shot up like rockets and he just stared at the cupcake in my hand. _Stupid! Take it!_

“That for me?”

He sounded like I was giving him a million bucks or something. “Mhm. Go on.” I nodded towards the sweet and tried to keep smiling. _Geez it’s a cupcake not a brand new bike._ He was smiling again when he stepped up to carefully take the cupcake out of my hand. I kinda expected him to tell me he was gonna guard it with his life or something. “I didn’t nibble it or anything. It’s fresh. Brand new. Didn’t go anywhere near my mouth.” I tried to reassure him so he could take it and just go.

“Thanks. This is great.”

He looked like he meant it, too. _What a weirdo._ He smiled down at me for a few more seconds before he started backing up. _Thank the Gods! Run along now, stupid pretty face._

“I’ll see you around, okay?”

He was already turned around and sprinting away from me when his words hit me. They sounded like a promise. _Oh no, did I make it worse?_ I couldn’t fight the cringe that was coming, instead I let it have me then leaned with my back against the storefront behind me. _Does that mean he’s gonna try to hang out with me now? I’m already an outsider, a freak, something to gawk at. Will they think I’m trying to get in good with people close to the prince?_ I groaned as I stood up and brushed the dirt from the back of my jeans. My mind started racing through everything that could possibly go wrong with this new situation while I started on my walk home.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, the first "fic" I ever put online! So I wrote this for myself on Gladio's birthday but decided to go ahead and put it somewhere other than Google Docs heh. This OC I've had in my head for a while now and have written a few things about her time in the FFXV verse, which I may or may not put here as well. Idk I'll see. But yea, this is how Gladio and Jasz met as kids!


End file.
